How Do I Create A Formal Garden Out Of This Space?
kate0012
7 years ago
My husband and I bought a 400 year old house in rural England last year and I'm just now learning about the garden. I've planted 22 plants in the last month, 14 of which are roses. We have a lot of space and I want to figure out how to do something special - create a beautiful formal rose garden in a small part of the bigger garden. We have a strange structure in the garden, a low stone wall in the shape of a square, but with an opening on all four sides. Nobody knows its original purpose, but apparently it has been here for hundreds of years. Inside this 'squared off' space there is a bird bath but nothing else, just grass. I've attached a photo to describe what I mean (with my baby in it - it's the only photo I have right now that can show most of the area.) I'd like to create a formal garden in this space. My questions are: where do I even begin? What are some sources I can look at? What would you do with this space? Thank you!
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Comments (10)
fig_insanity Z7b E TN
7 years ago
junco East Georgia zone 8a
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Create a garden in a cement-covered space
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Comments (15)i use this stuff called liquid shotgun... it is a spray that smells like slim jims (just my opinion) and it keeps all sorts of animals away, it doesn't harm the plants and what it does is slightly burns the nasal passages and/or mouth when the animal sniffs or bites the plant. i read on the bottle that you can also use it around decks, sheds, garbage cans, etc. it doesn't harm the animal but creates a less than desirable environment for them. you spray it once and it lasts up to two months. i use it to keep deer away, this is my 2nd year with it and i actually haven't even seen a deer near the yard this year. last year they were eating my plants EVERY night. i also spray my fruit trees with it and it keeps the deer from them, it also wards off birds from the fruit too. if you are interested i will get the exact name off of the label for you. i believe the company that makes it is called bonide. it smells strongly for the first day, but after that i don't even notice it. i have been finding suspicious teeth marks on my pumpkins this year- i have no idea what it is, but i sprayed the whole patch with this stuff and haven't seen any more yet. i like this stuff because i don't like to harm or kill anything, i used to not even kill bugs but since i began gardening i can't help but squoosh the ones that are eating MY food. anyway, i hope this helps... it cost me $20 and i am almost at the end of the bottle (2nd season using it) a good investment if you ask me. i got it at my local nursery/landscaping store. sarah...See MoreHow do you create a 4 season garden?
Comments (6)As no one has answered this, I will try. I think there are multiple ways to go about this. For me, I generally just try to plant a group of 3 or 4 bulbs in between perennials and small shrubs, where there's space. Sometimes you can get away with placing them fairly close to a perennial as that perennial likely won't be that big/wide in the spring time when the bulb is blooming. I have heard of people "mixing" perennials and bulbs, depending on the habits of the perennial. For example, planting tulips among lilies. The tulips would be up first in spring, then bloom while the lilies are just coming up. By the time the lilies are a decent size, the tulip foliage is still around but might be dying back for the season. I often wondered if it might be neat to try planting tulip bulbs among a creeping/spreading perennial such as lamium or silver mound. By the time the tulip foliage dies back, those perennials would increase in width and fill in that spot. So, I don't know if the bulbs would be planted right underneath a perennials roots, or vice versa, but perhaps it would be more like they are sharing the same area of the flower bed. This year I am trying a naturalizing effect by planting crocus bulbs underneath some areas of the lawn. I think they'll bloom early enough before the grass even needs cutting and, even then, hopefully the crocus leaves are low enough so that the lawnmower doesn't clip them (so the foliage can stay around long enough to replete their energy after blooming.) Glen...See MoreSpace has been created in my garden! Dinky Donna or Picasso?
Comments (17)It's a MadMadMadMad world, Mad, at least over here in my housing development. If I would put a cage around something, the co-op manager would come running across the street from his office, his flab swinging back and forth, and scream at me that "the insurance people think that this is pointy and dangerous!" He has declared "pointy and dangerous" the following: the plastic Adirondack garden fencing put around my original garden under the plum tree that died; a wrought iron trellis my clematis was growing on (so I made a really outrageous one of swim noodles and put the clematis on that, until he made noise about that, too); pinwheels stuck into your garden (we had a memo about pinwheels in gardens, but no worries, I hate pinwheels in gardens); and plant pots NOT sunk into the ground (not pointy, but dangerous!). How I have managed to avoid his wrath about the half-dozen large ceramic pots scattered within the confines of my garden, I don't know. They are not sunk into the ground. He must be saving that for a slow day. He also had the "landscape workers" rip out a neighbor's Rose of Sharon without any warning or opportunity to move it, because "it was too close to the building" and had a perfectly beautiful pine tree cut down because---wait for it---it was "too close to the building". The only thing around here that's truly "pointy and dangerous" is this guy's HEAD. Haha, I took some spare bricks and made a 2-brick-high garden border wall at the corner of the extended area. Let the "landscape workers" and maintenance men watch their step. Since the maintenance guys repaired our shaky porch banister by encasing the lower end in a 12" square block of cement on the sidewalk that anyone could easily trip over, I think they have nothing to say about this....See More
Cori Ann - H0uzz violated my privacy
7 years agoOoohhh wow! You will get so many ideas and so much help from everyone on here once you answer Johns wonderful questions! We will all dream and garden vicariously through you in that amazing space!
I would be inclined to do something mimicking the look and feel of this if the conditions allowed it...
Embothrium
7 years agokate0012
7 years agoUser
7 years agoCori Ann - H0uzz violated my privacy
7 years agogibsongirl74_gw (zone 6 CT)
7 years ago
Sarah z8
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoWhat a great space you have! So many options! Why not have formal mixed with informal? Your space reminds me of English herb gardens with the center being herbs and a focal point (urn, fountain, birdbath, statue, etc) with the outer border in perrenials, rambling roses, ferns, lavender, delphinium etc with a bench?
Herbs are low maintenance and trimming a few boxwoods for the formal element is a snap. I don't know if this appeals to you, but it's an idea anyway :) Sorry if this is picture overload
boxwood, ferns, lithodora, etc will add evergreen elements for winter interest when other plants are taking a break :)
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